Tiller vs YNAB: Frequently Asked Questions and Migration Tips
Are you looking to compare Tiller vs YNAB? Here are the most frequently asked questions, plus migration tips for making an informed decision.
Here at Tiller, we think YNAB is a great personal finance service. We respect the company, its mission, and community.
Many of Tiller’s customers came from YNAB, or even use Tiller and YNAB together.
Here are answers to some common questions about Tiller vs YNAB. If you have a specific question about using Tiller in place of YNAB, feel free to post in the Tiller Community, or email support@tillerhq.com.
See an overview of Tiller vs YNAB here.
What is Tiller?
Tiller is the only automated personal finance service built on Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets. Tiller automatically imports your daily spending, income, and account balances directly into your own private spreadsheets. Prebuilt templates help you budget, analyze trends, and confidently plan your financial future. Track all your accounts in one place with everything customizable, strict privacy, and no ads.
What can I do with Tiller?
Because Tiller is based on spreadsheets, you can use it for nearly any financial task, from household budgeting, paying off debt, tracking expenses, planning for retirement, even running a small business.
– Use Tiller’s automated spreadsheets and daily email for awareness to always know where your money goes, control spending, save more, and optimize cash flow.
– Keep financially organized with all your transactions and balances neatly updated in one place.
– Analyze trends and confidently plan ahead with prebuilt budgets, templates, and reports.
– Get inspired and find help when you need it with the Tiller Community and U.S.-based customer support.
What does a Tiller subscription include?
Your annual Tiller subscription includes:
– Tiller Money Feeds for Google Sheets
– Tiller Money Feeds for Microsoft Excel
– Foundation Template for Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel
– Automatic transaction categorization with AutoCat
– Daily email summarizing recent transactions and balances
– Top-rated, US-based customer support
– Vibrant Tiller Community
– Dozens of free Tiller Community Solutions templates
Does Tiller offer an app?
Tiller does not currently provide a dedicated smartphone app. However, the Tiller Community has built several mobile solutions, which you can read about here. Additionally, you can access your spreadsheets with mobile apps for Android and iPhone for Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel.
Finally, you can use Glide to build your own private app powered by your Google Sheets.
How many banks work with Tiller?
Tiller imports data each day from over 21,000 credit unions, banks, credit cards, mortgages, loans, brokerages, and other financial sources.
New banks are added each week. In our experience, the best way to know for certain if your account is compatible with Tiller is by testing it with a free trial. You can easily cancel if your bank isn’t supported.
How much does Tiller cost compared to YNAB?
Tiller is a flat $79/year, with no hidden fees or upgrades. YNAB is $99 paid annually, or $14.99/month (the equivalent of $180/year).
Does Tiller offer a monthly subscription?
Tiller currently offers an annual subscription only, starting with a completely free 30-day trial.
Does Tiller offer a free trial?
Tiller offers a completely free 30-day trial. Your card isn’t charged until the end of your trial. You can easily cancel anytime. Your trial subscription isn’t limited or throttled in any way.
Does Tiller offer a zero-based budget template?
YNAB encourages its users to “give every dollar a job.” This approach is commonly known as “zero-based budgeting.”
Tiller automates your daily spending, transactions, and balances into a spreadsheet to give you ultimate control over your budget. A Tiller Community Solution, called the Savings Budget, can be added on top of the out-of-the-box Foundation Template from Tiller if you prefer the envelope or zero-sum method.
It makes zero-sum budgeting in a spreadsheet easy. You can allocate unspent funds to any other category, such as “savings” or “vacation” and quickly see how much is left in your envelope.
Also, because Tiller is based in spreadsheets, you can build your own automated workflow customized for any budgeting style.
Can I use Tiller to collaborate on a budget with my spouse or financial planner?
Yes. Tiller is built on cloud-based spreadsheets, with the best real-time and asynchronous collaboration features of any automated personal finance service. You can easily and securely share your Tiller-powered spreadsheets and restrict access at any time.
Does Tiller include any pre-built reports?
Yes! The Foundation Template includes simple quick insights visualizations. You can browse dozens of other pre-built reports, templates, and workflows in the Tiller Community Solutions gallery.
Does Tiller automatically categorize my transactions?
Tiller offers the most customizable and accurate transaction categorization of any automated personal finance service with AutoCat. You can use AutoCat to categorize some, all, or none of your transactions, 100% based on your custom rules.
How do I get my YNAB transactions into my Tiller spreadsheets?
It’s easy to export your data transactions from YNAB and import it into a Tiller-powered spreadsheet.
YNAB allows you to export your budget as CSV files. Read about getting your YNAB budget into a Google spreadsheet powered by Tiller.
What happens to the data in my spreadsheet if I cancel my Tiller trial?
If you cancel your Tiller subscription, all your imported transactions, balance history, and templates remain untouched in your Google or Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. More here.
Where can I read Tiller reviews from real customers?
You can read reviews on Tiller’s website, or recent reviews on the Google Workspace Marketplace, where Tiller has a 4.7-star rating and over 65,000 installs.
Do I have to use automated bank syncing with Tiller?
If you strongly prefer a manual workflow, you can still use Tiller’s templates and AutoCat without connecting your banks to your spreadsheets.
How does Tiller protect my privacy?
Your security and privacy are our highest priority at Tiller. Read our complete security and privacy policies.
